


Foxhunt

by Macx



Category: Real Ghostbusters
Genre: Ghosts, Paranormal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-14
Updated: 2011-07-14
Packaged: 2017-10-21 09:53:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/223873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Macx/pseuds/Macx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Ghostbusters get hired by an influential family who believe a ghost is stealing their valuables. What they stumble upon is a Japanese mythical being, a kitsune. Well, not just one. Several. And not all are on the same side. Throw in some politics from another world and things could get dicey...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Foxhunt

**Author's Note:**

> originally written in the mid-nineties

 

 

The room was dark, only lit by the light of the flickering TV screen. A shadowy, but definitely female figure sat in front of the TV, following the program with barely a hint of interest. The room was that of a hotel, a very expensive hotel. It was luxuriously furnished and the glass of wine in the woman's hand was full of one of the most exquisite wines of the hotel's wine cellar. The curtains of the large panorama view window were drawn shut and though the hotel was close to one of the main streets in New York there was no sound penetrating the walls.

Near the window, stood a male figure. The man had his arms crossed in front of his chest and he was watching the woman.

"Well?" he asked, his voice cold and inhuman.

The female figure looked up, her blue eyes giving the man a calculating glance. "It sounds like fun," she finally said.

The man snorted. "So I can tell the Master that you accept this assignment?"

Another smile. "It has been very boring lately. This might be a bit of an adventure -- finally. Tell your Master that I accept, and I hope he remembers what I've done for him in the past."

There was a yellow glint in the man's eyes as he smiled. "Be assured, your payment will be as punctual as always. Just remember that we don't want any bodies, who can tell a story -- like the last time. Restrain your appetite."

The woman chuckled, then she got up, lazily walking over to him. He was taller than her and neither human, nor had he ever been. She knew he was a servant of the demon that gave her the assignments.

"Don't worry, H'dan," she whispered, then her voice took on a menacing tone. "As long as I get paid, I do as the 'Master' wishes. I just don't want to wait for it as long as the last time."

H'dan sneered. "The last time you nearly failed."

Her eyes narrowed. "Rest assured that this time I won't fail. Tell your Master to keep the payment ready."

The low-class demon looked disgusted, but was able to contain his feelings well enough not to make her angry. She was merely a mortal, long living, yet only mortal, but she had power. And like him she was a servant of the Master.

"I will tell him that," he said and dissolved into nothingness.

The woman walked back to her seat in front of the TV. A talkshow was on. Normally it was below her dignity to watch such cheap shows, but this was different. Now she was searching, looking, preying. Taking a sip from the red liquid in the glass she was still holding she crossed her long legs. Suddenly she smiled. It was a cruel smile, without humor, but full of triumph.

 

 

"Hello," she whispered. One manicured hand took the remote control and turned down the volume. She wasn't interested in the conversation, only in one man.

"Calycya," she then said, her voice still barely above a whisper, but there was an unmistakable command in it.

"Yes?" another voice answered. This one was female, too, but softer.

"We have a new assignment," the woman told her companion. "Him." She pointed at the man on the screen.

Calycya made a distressed sound, but didn't say anything.

A pair of icy blue eyes transfixed the servant in a cold stare. "Don't you dare contradict me. He's the target; he's the one who has it. You are to follow my orders or you will feel my wrath."

A shudder ran through the slight figure in the deep shadow of the room. "Yes, mistress," came the subdued reply.

The woman unfolded her long legs, placed the glass on a table and stood. She walked over to the TV screen, running one finger over the picture.

"You are mine," she purred.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Mistress?" Calycya asked softly, worry shining in her large eyes. "You might get the ... energy another way."

Anger flashed in the woman's eyes, then was briefly replaced by desperation, which disappeared just as quickly as it had surfaced. "This is none of your business," she replied coldly, then changed channels.

Calycya gave another soft sound of distress and melted into the background again.

 

* * *

 

"I found another one." Ray looked at the computer screen in delight and began to punch some keys. After a few seconds a short text appeared on the screen and the occultist began to read.

"Well?" Winston asked and stepped beside his colleague.

"Hm," Ray answered, his excitement dimming a bit. "Nothing new. All they say we already know. But there's also some info about another info page in the internet. I'll see if I can get there and find something useful."

Winston sighed. "Great. Two days on the job and we're as far as the day we started."

"With the few evidence we have," Egon said and looked up from his own research, "I didn't expect us to find anything concrete right away."

"Yeah, okay, but two days without a solid lead?" Zeddemore shrugged. "It's like running from one dead end into another."

Egon nodded thoughtfully. "It is strange that we haven't been able to pinpoint any concrete information so far, and we weren't able to get clear or definite readings at Mr. West's home."

"I told you it's all a publicity set-up," a tenor voice lamented from the door. Peter Venkman entered, a coffee cup in his hands. "Ol' Daddy gets robbed and his family tries to splash it all over the pages that it was a ghost who scared the old guy and took his sculpture."

Egon shook his head. "There was something there, Peter. I got some readings, but they were too faint and too distorted to tell which ghost left them."

"And I'm telling you that there wasn't a ghost and that the family just wants publicity. The West's are known for that. Remember the staged kidnapping?"

"It wasn't staged," Ray contradicted.

"Uh-huh, right. It just happened that the 'kidnapped' daughter had taken off for a week of fun with her friends without telling Daddy." Peter shook his head. "I tell you, they want some publicity, nothing more."

"Since when do you protest against publicity?" Winston asked with a smile. "It gets us some publicity as well, Pete."

"Yeah, great. Publicity West style. No thanks, Winston, I can live without that." The psychologist shook his head.

The West family was known for being on the local gossip pages once or twice every week. They loved to splash their private life all over the papers and did everything to get a big headline. For Peter, this case was just another attempt to see their name printed in capital letters. Even though they wanted to pay grandly, Peter didn't like this case. And then there was the fact that he had once tried to date Veronica West, Daddy's nearly kidnapped girl, and she'd used him to get even more publicity, dumping him after two weeks of headlines.

"Maybe it's a set-up, maybe not, but we can't risk that it isn't a fraud and that there really is a ghost in the West Manor." Ray gestured at the equipment scattered in the lab. "We have readings, all we need to know now is what kind of ghost it was that nearly killed Mr. West."

"Well, it didn't actually try to kill him, did it?" Peter asked, leaning against the door frame. "The old man had a heart attack after he discovered that the sculpture was stolen."

"He was frightened by the appearance of a ghost," Egon clarified. "That's what he told us. "

"So, in a way, he was nearly killed by it," Ray concluded, once again searching through the OccultNet to find something resembling a lead.

"What about Ms West's claims that it was the woman her father had just lately met?" Winston asked. "She said there is something strange about her, what's her name, Tonia Morrow?"

"Daughters always find something strange about women their age who try to seduce Daddy to get the big bucks," Peter said and shrugged. "But if you think so, I'll volunteer to check her out." He grinned.

"I don't think that is necessary, Peter," Egon answered levelly. "Besides, the police has already checked her background and found nothing amiss. "

"And why should she have stolen a crystal sculpture?" Winston asked. "What Mr. West told us, it's worthless because it's more or less just plain glass. There were more expensive things in the room it was displayed in and stolen from."

Ray nodded. "Yeah, but from the description of it I think it's more than just a simple glass sculpture."

"Don't tell me it is a magic object, Ray," Peter begged.

"Well, it sounds like it, Peter," the occultist answered. "I'm still waiting for the picture Ms West promised to get us. She said they took a photo of the sculpture when her father brought it home."

"Uh-huh."

"Hey, look what I found!" Ray suddenly called.

Winston leaned forward, looking at the screen. "What is it?"

"Someone sent me a message concerning my inquiry with the strange and blurred readings. I posted an all-open inquiry so anyone could access it and someone actually sent something." Ray read excitedly over the information, then he frowned. "Egon, listen to this: readings are similar to the ones found in Japan in the early 1900s by acclaimed spiritualists. Indicate kitsune presence. See _Japanese Spirits_ by Charles Ken Wu and _The Book of Deadly Spirits_ by Jessica McNeill. End of message."

"Who sent this message?" Egon asked and went over to where Ray sat at the computer.

"Kitsune?" Winston asked almost simultaneously.

"The message was sent by some guy who calls himself 'Knight' on the net. Don't know who this Knight could be." Ray shrugged. "I'll try to mail him a return question. Maybe he can help us further."

"What's kitsune?" Winston repeated his question.

" _Kitsune_ are Japanese fox spirits, mainly female, who are attracted to humans because of their life energy. Kitsune take the same place in Japanese mythology as Fairies do in Western." Egon frowned. "I've never heard about _kitsune_ sightings anywhere. It's purely mythological that these creatures exist."

"Yeah, right, and the same goes for demons, ghosts and gods, Egon," Peter said and joined his friends at the computer.

"I'll check Tobin's," the physicist muttered and walked back to his work bench.

" _Kitsune_ are believed to be beautiful creatures, powerful, mischievous and vindictive," Ray explained further. "They can look human, but they always have their tails as a sign that they are not." He shrugged.

"So we're looking for a guy with a fox tail?" Peter quipped. "Should be easy to find."

"I'll see if I can get Knight to give us more information," Ray said and tried to contact Knight.

About five minutes later they heard a muttered 'Fascinating' from Egon's corner of the lab.

"What is it, big guy?" Peter asked.

"Tobin's has a small, but very interesting chapter about _kitsune_ ," the physicist said. "As it is, they were mostly common in Japanese mythology, but other cultures know about them as well, especially the Chinese. To all cultures _kitsune_ are female, beautiful beyond endurance and very attractive. They can change their fox shape into a human shape by absorbing the essence of the moon and the sun. Some folklores say that foxes achieve this by conducting rites of worship during full moon."

"Werefoxes," Peter joked with a lopsided grin.

The physicist ignored him. "After a few centuries the foxes have achieved the ability to change into a human form. Only their tails remain to tell an outsider who they are. Very powerful _kitsune_ can even hide their tail. Men are drawn to the female foxes because of their beauty and radiance, and are then killed by the hungry spirits, who seek only to take the life of a man."

"Sounds like a Siren to me," Peter commented.

"In a way," Ray agreed. "The _kitsune_ are also attracted to wealth and luxury, trying to amass power as well as money."

Peter raised an eyebrow. "Well, if that doesn't sound like the flame of our Mr. West. Maybe she is _kitsune_." He grinned again. "I'm still volunteering to check her out. Especially if she's got a tail."

Winston rolled his eyes.

Egon shook his head seriously. "If she is _kitsune_ we need to be careful and take as few risks as possible; she could be very dangerous. If she isn't, the same goes. We don't want publicity of that kind ourselves."

"What's a little risk between a beautiful woman and me?" Peter asked and raised and eyebrow. "She most be one hot number ...."

"Yeah, right, and you'll be the first to burn your fingers," Winston chuckled.

Peter stuck out his tongue.

"We can check the West Manor for _kitsune_ readings with a P.K.E. meter again, now that we know what to look for," Ray said.

Egon nodded. "Precisely. I'll try and program the meter with the few definite data we have, though it isn't much to set parameters. Most of them are too blurred."

Peter produced a newspaper and opened it on the gossip pages. "There's a party at the West's house and if Ms West really wants publicity, I think she won't object when we pay her a visit." He grinned. "And we could meet the future Mrs. West."

Winston chuckled and Egon nodded. "Good idea."

"I'll arrange the invitation," Peter said and left the lab.

Winston shook his head. "Man, what'd we do without Pete?"

"Probably spend more time researching," Egon muttered.

"We will be researching on that party," Ray objected, still waiting patiently for a probable reply from Knight. He was hoping the man, or woman, who had given them the first clue might be on-line and receive the message he had sent right away.

"And partying, as far as we know Pete," Winston added with a broad smile. "I'll go and see that he doesn't get in over his head. You two try and find a way to make the P.K.E. meter look inconspicuous. It won't do if we run around with it openly. Raises too many questions."

"Good idea," Egon said and went to work again.

 

* * *

 

The dinner party was a complete success. At least for Dr. Peter Venkman, Ghostbuster. He and his colleagues had been invited as an attraction -- as Peter had foretold them. Veronica West had been very excited that the Ghostbusters had volunteered to make an appearance. Peter had seen the party as a chance to meet important people and beautiful women, especially their prime suspect. The important people were not so important at all, but some of the female guests were definitely his kind. Right now he had his eyes set on a dark-haired beauty in a dashing gown. Just as he was about to approach her, she made an approach herself -- on Egon. Peter felt a wave of disappointment rise inside of him as she linked her arm in Egon's and smiled at him. Why was it that when he had his eyes set on a woman, it was Egon they seemed to be attracted to? Well, he told himself with a grin, let the old computer brain have his fun, too. He wasn't so sure whether the dark-haired woman had made the right choice, because Egon seldom showed any interest in women, but maybe she was in luck.

As he looked around for a female companion to spend the rest of the party with he discovered Ray standing beside one of the many large plants, the hidden P.K.E. meter in hand. Somehow he and Egon had transformed the P.K.E. meter into a smaller  unit, which was attached to one's belt and looked like a beeper, which was connected to a thin hand mike on a string. The wire led through the sleeve and the antenna-like extension was held in one' hand and could be hidden in the cuff of the shirt with ease. The only drawback to this construction, as Egon had explained, was that you couldn't change the setting while taking readings. This way, the meter had to be pre-set and would search only for the one reading. If there happened to be another ghost around, it wouldn't pick that one up.

Peter walked over to Ray and raised one eyebrow. "Well, any luck?"

Ray had scanned every corner of the house and every female guest, especially Mr. West's companion. Tonia Morrow was a striking woman, as were most of the female guests tonight, with designer clothes and perfectly styled hair. And even though Peter had checked closely, well, as close as he could without offending their host, Mr West, she had no tail.

"I'm not sure," Ray now answered his question. "I could only briefly glance at the read-out screen when I went to the men's room after scanning her, and all I saw were the same readings we received when we scanned the house for ghosts; something blurred and without definition. It could be a simple residue from a ghost, though it's not coming directly from her. Whatever has been here, it read strong enough to leave a residue that clings to the house."

"Oh, great," Peter muttered and looked around. They had decided to make their observations and scanning discretely, so the West's wouldn't be able to make a publicity gig out of it.

"Oh, Dr. Stantz," a female voice called and Peter winced. Veronica West appeared, smiling at Ray, but ignoring Peter. "I finally found the picture you wanted." She held out a picture and Ray took it with a smile.

"Thank you, Ms West." He looked at it. "I might need to come back to you after we checked the sculpture," he said.

"Oh, every time," the woman answered and kept on smiling. Then she discovered another guest and went away.

Peter shuddered. "I wonder what made me want to date her," he muttered.

"Daddy's bucks?" Ray hazarded.

"Oh, shut up," the psychologist grumbled. He looked at the picture. "Nice," he commented.

The picture showed a simply sculpture without a definite form. It looked like a twisted rod with a lot of small crystal enclosed in it.

"Looks familar, somehow," Ray muttered.

Peter patted his shoulder. "You go figure it out, I have some matters to attend to."

He had discovered a lonely female figure. She was not as dashingly beautiful as Egon's new girl-friend, but she was attractive. Right now she was standing at the buffet table, looking indecisive. She was slim, dressed all in dark blue. Her blond hair was short, barely touching her shoulders.

He he walked over to the blonde. "May I help you?" Peter asked smoothly.

The woman looked up, her clear blue eyes showing surprise. "Oh," she said. "You are one of the Ghostbusters, aren't you?"

Peter beamed at the recognition. "Dr. Peter Venkman," he introduced himself.

"Maggie Ryan," she returned the favor, smiling a bit shyly.

Peter didn't know what it was, but he liked her immediately, especially her smile.

"What would you recommend?" Maggie asked, still looking around on the table laden with food.

"The Italian restaurant right down at the corner."

She laughed and it was a pleasant laugh. Peter felt his hormones jumping. "I see you live up to your reputation."

"Reputation?" He looked indignant. "What reputation?"

"That you're quite a lady's man, Dr. Venkman."

"Please call me Peter. And this reputation, as you put it, comes only from my very sociable manner."

She chuckled. "So, that's what they're calling it. Sociability."

"You have something against sociability, Maggie?" He gave her a death defying look, one he hoped would melt her in his arms.

"Oh, not at all." She looked down, blushing a bit.

"I would love us to become sociable together," Peter purred and was rewarded with a lovely shy look from those blue eyes and an even deeper blush.

"I'll just bet you would," Maggie returned. She put down the plate and took the arm he offered. "But Italian sounds good, Peter. The party is boring anyway."

"Exactly my thoughts." With a wink towards Winston Zeddemore, who just happened to stand close by and witness Peter's latest conquest, he left the party.

As Peter left, he noticed Egon and the dark-haired beauty talking animatedly with each other. _Looks like we're both in luck, Spengs_ , he thought, then closed the doors behind them.

 

* * *

 

The phone was ringing.

And it kept on ringing.

He tried to ignore it, but the ringing just didn't stop. With a groan he rolled over and cracked one eye open, seeking out the display of his alarm clock.

11.20 p.m.

He groaned again, closed the eye and reached blindly for the phone, which was still ringing.

"Yeah?" he asked groggily into the receiver.

"Campell? That you?"

"Who else?" he murmured, identifying the annoying disturbance as one of his best friends. "Y'know what time it is?"

"Something around eleven," was the answer.

"It's the middle o' the night an' I had a strainin' day," he said with a sleepy voice, not even pretending to smother the huge yawn that threatened to crack his jaw. "Whaddya want?"

"I think I got a lead on her."

"Who?"

"Campell, come on and wake up!" the voice on the other end of the line commanded.

"I'm awake, I'm awake," he protested, opening his eyes as proof, though no one was there to see it.

"Tell me another one. Listen, I think I have a lead on Roo."

That brought him up sharp and suddenly he was wide awake. "What? Where from?"

"There was an inquiry about _kitsune_ on the net."

"Come on, Alicia, you know what to make of such things....." he began.

"From one of the Ghostbusters," Alicia continued.

"The Ghostbusters?" That was different. "What did they want to know?"

"They gave some vague parameters, but they were right on line with Roo's _kitsune_ aura. I told them it was probably a _kitsune_ ," she added.

"You what??" he yelled. "Alicia, whatever bit you to do that?"

"Turn down the volume, kid. They're professionals in that area and right the guys we might need to find Roo if she's still here," Alicia said. "You might even want to consider working with them."

"Alicia ...."

"No, seriously, Fox. They could help you to finally find her. Think about it. You'd also get rid of the Council, won't'cha? The Ghostbusters already filed another request about more information and if you say 'yes' I'll give them your name."

There was a lengthy silence as he went over her suggestion again and again. It was true what she said. With Roo finally caught he'd be rid of the Council and could live his own life.

 "What if they start investigating me?" he finally asked.

"Even if they do, you have a solid background, haven't you? And if you don't start magicking around they won't get a sniff of what you are, right?" she asked.

"It's not magic," he grumbled.

"Whatever," she said lightly. "Do you accept?"

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Can I call you back on that? I need some coffee first to get my brain cells working."

"If you get that fabulous body moving in the next ten minutes you can get over to my place and I'll make you some of my special brew," Alicia offered. "Then you can tell me you decision."

"I won't be able to sleep after your famous coffee, Alicia," he objected.

"That's the idea, darling."

He sighed. "Okay, I'll come."

"Great. See ya." With that she hung up.

Fox Campell sank back into his pillow with a groan. It was in the middle of the night, Alicia had once again made a decision without asking him and above all, if Roo was really here in New York, the Council would be on him in no time. And he hated nothing more than politics.

 

* * *

 

The Ghostbusters returned home late that evening -- one man short. Peter had told Winston not to expect him home in the evening since he and his date were out dining Italian. The other three Ghostbusters had said good-bye to Veronica West and left. While Winston was changing into something more comfortable than a suit, Ray walked straight to the computer and checked the e-mail entries. To his delight there were several, and one he had expected.

"Guys!" he called. "Knight answered!"

Egon, who had been busy downloading the information from the little P.K.E. meter Ray had carried, looked up, and Winston came over from the bedroom.

"Knight says that there's someone who might give us some answers. A guy called Campell." Ray scrolled the page. "He says Campell would agree to meet with us tomorrow if we want to." He looked questioningly at the others. "Well?"

"It would be interesting to know what Mr. Campell has to say about _kitsune_ , since we don't have much on this case anyway," Egon said thoughtfully.

"So I can tell Knight we agree?" Ray asked.

The physicist nodded and Ray wrote the message. Minutes later there was a reply, much to his surprise. Knight must have been on-line, waiting.

"SoundWave studios," he read the location they should meet. "At eleven a.m."

"SoundWave?" Winston asked. "That's downtown."

Egon nodded. "I'll go over the readings you took, Ray. Maybe we have something substantial now."

Ray shrugged, though, like Egon, he didn't hold any high hopes. Winston yawned.

"I'll crash for the night, guys. Don't stay up too long. It's bad enough if we have to drag Peter out of bed tomorrow to meet this Campell character."

Both scientists nodded and the black Ghostbuster left the lab, shaking his head. He'd place any bet that neither Ray or Egon had heard him and that they wouldn't get to bed early.

 

* * *

 

SoundWave studios was in the heart of New York, occupying several floors of a steel-and-glass skyscraper. The Ghostbusters entered the building and looked around for either the mysterious Mr. Campell or some sign to tell them where to go. Peter yawned heartily and wished he had stayed in bed. His date had proven to be a lot of fun, and after dinner they had visited the late night movie theater just around the corner. Winston had thrown him out of bed half an hour before they had left for the studios, nearly drowned him with coffee and then carried him down to Ecto. Well, 'pushed him' would have been a better way to describe it. Now he felt a bit more awake than an hour ago, but he still wasn't convinced that he would stay awake.

"Can I help you?" a female voice floated over to him and suddenly Peter felt very much awake.

The voice belonged to a dark-haired, young woman, who sat behind the large receptionist's desk.

"Yes," Egon answered, "we were told to meet a Mr. Campell here. Could you tell us where we may find him?"

She smiled. "You must the Ghostbusters. Mr. Campell has been held up in post-production and told me to relay this to you."

Before Egon could thank her, Peter broke in. "Thank you," he glanced at her name-badge, "Andrea."

"My pleasure," she answered, giving him a beautiful smile.

Peter was just starting to get into a deeper conversation with her when the elevator's doors opened and some people spilled out. Most of them left the building, two walked through a door left of the receptionist's desk, and one came straight toward them. It was a man in his late twenties, with dark hair, and dressed in jeans and a white shirt.

"You're the Ghostbusters?" he asked. Egon nodded and introduced them. "I'm Fox Campell," the dark-haired man said. "Alicia told me you wanted some information about ..... _kitsune_."

Yes," Ray answered, a bit surprised by his directness.

Campell gestured toward the elevator. "Let's go somewhere more private."

They followed him to the elevator and rode up to the fifth floor. There he led them down a corridor into what had to be an office from the looks of it. There was a large desk, cluttered with papers, a table with a few chairs around, lots of plants and one large window overlooking the area.

"Don't look too closely," Campell said with a smile. "It always looks so wild." He made an inviting gesture toward the chairs and they sat down.

"You said someone named Alicia called you up because of our inquiry?" Ray asked when they were seated. "Is she 'Knight'?"

Campell nodded. "She is. She said that I might be able to help you with your case because of my knowledge of _kitsune_."

"What do you know about _kitsune_?" Ray asked. "We tried to look these creatures up in Tobin's, but there isn't much. They are not well-known beside the more or less public knowledge -- the myths and legends of Japan."

Campell leaned back. "Well, I heard some things about _kitsune_ and I can give you some written information, if that is what you need. Alicia and I have been doing some research on the subject."

"You are a scientist?" Winston wanted to know. He didn't judge the man as a scientist, but then, he'd never have thought of Peter as one as well.

"No. It's more or less a hobby. We keep track of everything that appears about _kitsune_ and when you placed that inquiry, we thought we'd try and track down what's really behind all of this."

"Why?" Winston wanted to know.

"Curiosity."

To Peter this sounded like a lie, but he didn't say anything. He simply kept on looking at Campell. Something was wrong, but what? Maybe it were the strange blue eyes, which seemed normal at first sight, but to Peter, who had kept an eye ont he guy since they had met in the hall, they were a bit too blue. And didn't his hair have a blue touch to it? The psychologist blinked. No, no, he had been mistaken.

Egon took his P.K.E. meter out of his pocket and activated it. "We are currently working on the possible theft of a sculpture through a paranormal being," he explained. "We were able to record some parameters of this being, but have been unable to tell for sure what kind of classification it has."

"What my colleague tries to say," Peter interrupted, "is that we don't have a clue what kind of ghost we're facing because it knows how to hide, and whether it is a ghost at all."

Campell raised both eyebrows. "From what Alicia told me, you had readings of a _kitsune_."

"Well, I submitted the readings we have to the OccultNet," Ray explained. "And Knight answered, telling me they were similar to the ones of _kitsune_."

Campell leaned forward and looked at the read-out screen of the meter. "Well, I can't say anything on that since I don't have a clue what that means." He pointed at the lines and numbers on the screen.

"You're not alone," Peter muttered and earned a sharp look from Egon.

"You said something was stolen ...?" Campell prompted.

"A glass sculpture," Ray said.

The man from SoundWave raised both eyebrows in open surprise. "A glass sculpture. That's unusual."

"Come again?"

Campell shrugged. "As far as Alicia and I found out, _kitsune_ are only attracted to objects of great worth. They're like magpies."

"Let's assume for a moment that it was really a _kitsune_ who stole the sculpture," Winston spoke up again. "Why was a glass sculpture stolen when it could have been something much more precious? And why leave a faint, but still detectable trail?"

"Maybe it's a young one," Campell explained, but it sounded weak.

"Maybe when I have the results from the check I'm running on the sculpture ....." Ray started. "Maybe there is really something magical to it."

Campell looked up with interest. "Magic? A magic sculpture? Do you have any confirmation on that?"

The occultist shook his head. "When Ms West described it to me I thought I had heard about it somewhere before, and it also looks familiar somehow, I just can't put my finger on it." He shrugged.

"Anyway," Peter interrupted and rose from the chair, "thank you for your time, Mr. Campell."

The others followed his example, Egon with a surprised look on his face.

"My pleasure to help you," Campell said and shook their hands.

"What was that all about?" Winston asked when the elevator's doors closed after them.

"I don't know about you guys, but he's not what he says he is," Peter told them. "He knows a lot, doesn't say where he knows it from, and he listened up when Ray mentioned the magic sculpture."

"Possible magic sculpture," Egon corrected.

"Okay, possible magic sculpture. You know what I mean." Peter looked at them. "I think he knows something we don't."

"Maybe. Let's check out the sculpture first," Egon decided. "If it is a magical object of power, we should get back to Mr. Campell."

They left the building.

 

*

 

Fox Campell shook his head in desperation as he looked at the blonde woman opposite him. "By Shi's tail, they know!" he repeated. "I saw it in Venkman's eyes that he suspects something; and the others as well. They are Ghostbuster, Alicia; they are constantly confronted with the paranormal, so they know when there's something amiss."

"Fox, please, stop running a ditch into the carpet," Alicia Knight said. "What did you tell them anyway that they might get suspicious?"

"Nothing much; only something about _kitsune_. Nothing too definite." He shrugged.

"So why would they suspect anything?" she wanted to know.

"Because they were asking for my sources -- and they mentioned that the stolen object might be magical."

"And your fox ears perked right up, correct?" Alicia shook her head. "You'll never learn, do you?"

"If the object is magical and it was really Roo who stole it, then she's definitely onto something again. Maybe she's got a new employer ..." He frowned. "And if she has, the theft might be related to something." Campell looked at her. "I need to know what was stolen."

"Then read the papers, darling," the woman said with a smile. "It was splashed all over the gossip pages." She rummaged through a stack of newspapers and pulled out an old newspaper. "That's from two days ago. Read it."

Fox took the paper and scanned the lines and then the picture attached to the article. "West," he muttered. "Heard about them. He's quite a collector, but nothing occult or magical."

"Looks like he had something of interest to a _kitsune_ renegade," Alicia said, raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe. They say it was only a crystal sculpture, no real monetary worth; a memorability." He put down the paper. "If it isn't worth much, then it has to be magical. Roo would never go through so much trouble if there weren't either money or magic connected to it." He shook his head. "Now the question is, what did she steal it for."

"You said the Ghostbusters were researching the sculpture as well," Alicia reminded him and leaned against the desk. "Why not ask them?"

"Because they would want to know more about me!" he told her. "And I can't answer their questions without putting me into grave danger!"

She chuckled. "Hey, you're a fox, Blue Eyes. Try and find a way around that problem."

"Alicia, that's not an answer to my problem!"

Alicia Knight grew serious. "You have to play it by the ear, Fox. Both sets of ears, so to speak. Trust them with as much as you can risk and weave your way around the other stuff. Trust your instincts. You still got some, do you?" she asked playfully.

He smiled humorlessly. "You'd be surprised." Then he sighed deeply. "I have to act fast on this before the Council gets a sniff of it. If they find out that Roo's in the same area I'm in, I've to answer to them again. And I hate to get into _kitsune_ politics."

"Then act."

He was silent for some time, then looked at his friend again. "Can't you simply ask this Ray over the net?"

Alicia shook her head. "Nope. I helped you find them and I helped them get in contact with you. With that, my part is done. You are the one after Roo, not me. And besides, asking over the net would be even more suspicious."

"Okay, okay, you win." Fox took his jacket. "I'll grab a bite to eat and then venture over to them. Let's see how far I can get without riding myself even deeper into this mess than I've already done."

Alicia walked over to him and patted his shoulder. "Hey, you're doing fine for one so young," she joked.

"Aw, get out of my hair," he growled.

"Don't you want to say 'fur'?" she called and made a quick exit as he threatened to throw the paper at her.

"Some people," Fox muttered, then left as well.

 

* * *

 

Ray whistled softly as he scanned over the pages and then rose from his chair, walking down to the living room area where Peter and Winston sat in front of the TV, relaxing for a change. Egon sat at the desk of the tiny workspace of the second floor and was reading several books.

"Guys, I think I found something very interesting," Ray said and everyone looked up.

"What is it, Ray? The address of a new comic book store?" Peter asked, good natured.

Ray shook his head with excitement. "No, the reason why the sculpture was stolen." He held up a book. "Look at this!" He placed it down on the table.

"Mycna's Key?" Winston read questioningly.

"Yeah, a very powerful object to open dimensional gateways!" the occultist explained, his cheeks flushed with excitement. "It was believed to be the Key to the Gate of Power, a nexus point of raw magical energies. The owner of the Key would be able to access these energies whenever he wants to and make them his own, use them! Isn't this great, guys?"

"If you mean that we're after someone who might have a large amount of power at his disposal to wipe out little Ghostbuster," Peter said, "then, no, Ray, I'm not excited."

"But it explains now why only the sculpture was stolen," Egon stated. "All we have to find now is the thief."

"Uh-huh," Peter muttered. "Who will then wipe us out."

"Not necessarily. Maybe the thief was only told to steal the Key, but doesn't know how to use it," Egon theorized.

"But the thief could also have given the Key to his employer and we're dead meat again." Peter leaned back. "I don't like it."

"We could find the Key easily," Ray explained enthusiastically. "It has very pronounced readings and can be picked up from far away." He held up a P.K.E. meter, which he had brought with him. "I set the meter already so we can begin at once."

"Good idea," Egon appreciated his younger colleague's work.

"Oh, goodie," Peter muttered. "He thought of everything."

"No way back now, m'man," Winston said and clapped Peter on the back. "Let's get going. The sooner we find the sculpture -- and the thief -- the sooner we know if it's already in the wrong hands."

"It is already in the wrong hands, Winston," Egon told him. "It was in the wrong hands the moment Mr. West purchased it. This sculpture does not belong in the hands of people who don't know what they own."

"Enough of the lessons, big guy," Peter jumped in when Egon made a small pause. "You can deliver one when we present Mr. West with our pay-check."

The physicist scowled at him, but didn't say anything.

The four Ghostbusters prepared to leave and ten minutes later Ecto-1 rolled out of the firehouse.

 

* * *

 

Fox rubbed his eyes and shook his head. He had spent the last hour in the private library of friend, trying to find a matching picture to the description of the stolen object from the West's. Though he had told Alicia that he would call up the Ghostbusters and offer them more help, he had decided to get some information first. He had read the article about the theft and had taken some notes on how the stolen object looked like; then he had paid Larry a visited, the owner of the library. Now, book after book of failure, he had found a match.

Mycna's Key.

Fox had heard of the Key once before in his life: in school. When he had applied for the course of Higher Magic, which he had failed in the end, their teacher had told them about the Key, a powerful object to open gateways.

 _This is just swell. Roo steals Mycna's Key and I've to be the one to find out about it. Next thing I know is that I have trouble with the Council again because they want me to take it from her._

Not that he wouldn't go after her on his own. He didn't need the Council to get going and follow Roo's trail. She was a renegade, a thief and a murderer; three reasons for him to do it. But why did she have to steal such a powerful magic object? His best guess was that she had another employer and that he had told her to get it. From the sound of it, it could be J'onar, a demon. Fox shuddered. How could Roo stand to be around demons? It made his teeth itch every time he encountered one. It had to be her greed for money and power, he decided.

"Found what you wanted?" a voice asked and startled him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah," Fox replied.

"Need anything else?"

"Two aspirins and a cup of Alicia's Pure Caffeine Coffee," Fox replied dryly.

Larry frowned. "That bad?"

Fox closed the book and rose from the chair. "Worse."

"Oh."

The lean, dark-haired man shrugged. "Want me to call Alicia?"

"No, not yet. If she calls to ask for me, tell her you don't know where I am, okay?"

Larry chuckled. "That won't be hard since you probably won't tell me anyway where you want to go."

"Hunting," he replied and smiled. Then he walked toward the door.

"Good luck. And be careful!" Larry called after him.

"Ain't I always?" Fox muttered and closed the door after him.

 

* * *

 

Peter looked at the hotel with mild surprise. It was one of the most expensive hotel there was in Manhattan. "Are you sure?" he asked Ray, who was the one holding the P.K.E. meter and who was also the one who had led them here.

"The readings are coming from this place," Ray verified and shrugged.

Egon took the meter and confirmed the readings, then nodded. "We are at the right place."

"I hope it's at the right time," Winston added, then turned to Peter. "I think it's your turn now. Try and convince the manager to let us run a search."

Peter smoothed his hair and placed the most winning smile on his lips. "Leave it all to me, guys." With that he entered the hotel.

The other looked at each other, various expressions in their eyes, then followed.

The inside of the hotel was just as elegant and expensive looking as the outside suggested. The guests lounging in the entrance hall looked at the four Ghostbusters with surprise and curiosity. Peter stopped at the reception desk and smiled at the middle-aged woman behind the counter.

"I'm Dr. Peter Venkman, and these are my colleagues," he indicated the other Ghostbusters, "and we'd like to talk to the manager."

The woman gave him a critical look, especially the proton pack he was wearing. "Business?" she then asked.

"Yes."

Another critical look. "I'll see if he's busy or not," the woman said and dialed a number. "Mr. Hamilton? A Dr. Peter Venkman from the Ghostbusters and his colleagues are here and would like to talk to you .... yes ....yes, right away, sir." She hung up and looked at Peter again. "Mr. Hamilton is expecting you in his office." She pointed toward the elevators. "Second floor."

"Thank you," Peter said with a huge smile and they trooped over to the elevators. The eyes of the guests followed them.

When they left the elevator on the second floor they were greeted by a burly man in his late fifties, with grey hair and a dark suit.

"Dr. Venkman?" the man asked and then shook Peter's hand as he nodded. "I'm Fred Hamilton, the manager. Is there a problem? A ghost problem?"

"No, not necessarily. We thought we'd go over the whole building just to make sure you don't have to call us up," Peter explained with a huge smile. "No extra costs for you."

Egon winced slightly at the lie, but didn't say anything.

"Oh, very kind of you." The manager looked a bit fidgety. "You won't destroy anything, will you?"

"Destroy?" Peter looked just the right amount shocked and hurt. "Mr. Hamilton ... Fred .... we'd never destroy anything here. We're just making sure you don't have any unwanted guests, that's all!"

"It's just that the Sedgewick Hotel ...."

"Oh, that. Our first case. It's been years since we burned a hotel to the ground, believe me, Fred." Peter laid an arm around the other man's shoulders and steered him down the corridor. "We're professionals, trust us."

Hamilton looked unconvinced, but Peter also saw that the manager didn't want to let this free offer go. "All right," he finally said. "You may do your examinations, but before you actually catch any ghosts you might find, tell me. I've to inform the police and firefighters then." With that Hamilton saw them to the elevators again and the four men rode to the ground level.

"Okay, where do we start?" Winston wanted to know when they stood in the entrance hall again.

"I think it would be best to split into two teams," Egon explained. "One team starts at the top floor, the other at the ground floor. This way we can cover more ground and be more efficient."

The others nodded, then split up, with Ray and Peter as one team, and Winston and Egon as the second one. Each took an elevator and while Peter and Ray rode to the top floor, Egon and Winston began their search on the third floor, where the first guest rooms were.

 

*

 

Fox Campell stood outside the hotel and shook his head in annoyance. Typically Roo. He should have known that she would pick one of the most expensive hotels in Manhattan for her lair. He couldn't feel her; he would have been surprised if he could have. As a human, _kitsune_ didn't register. This made hunting a them very hard, but it also gave the hunted an edge to his or her pursuers. Right now, it gave Roo the edge if she didn't make any moves to betray her. The only reason why Fox now stood here was the fact that the stolen Key gave off enough energy readings for him to find it.

 _Okay, here goes._

He stepped inside the hotel and looked around, then walked purposefully over to the elevators. He punched the Key to call one down to the ground floor and waited, in the meantime stretching his senses to get another good sniff of the Key's energies. It had to be somewhere on the top floors. Fox could have asked the receptionist whether someone fitting Roo's description had taken a room here, but he wasn't into taking risks. So he did it the slow way.

When the elevator had arrived and the guests of the hotel had left, Fox entered, glad when he saw that no one else was riding with him. He punched the Key for the top floor penthouse, the most likely place to find Roo.

 

*

 

It had begun the moment Peter and Ray left the elevator. The P.K.E. meter began beeping loudly and its arms shot out, indicating that the sculpture had to be right in front of them. Ray looked up from the display, which was fluctuating wildly.

"It's here."

"And since there's only one room up here," Peter said and pointed at the door at the far end of the short corridor leading away from the elevator, "I think we've found our thief." He unhooked the rifle from the pack and activated the thrower. "Just to be on the safe side," he added.

Ray nodded, then got out his walkie-talkie. "Egon, this is Ray."

"I read you."

"I think we found it. Penthouse floor."

"We'll be up in a few minutes," Egon said briefly and then signed off.

"Okay, so we wait for the rest of the team and then knock politely." Peter eyed the door to the penthouse warily, expecting something nasty to storm out every second.

And this very second the door opened, but instead of a ghost a woman left the room. She was a beauty, Peter immediately decided. Long, red hair, a slim figure, and dressed in expensive designer clothes. She was carrying a purse. As she exited, the P.K.E. meter began give off a loud alarm. The woman stopped in mid-stride and she stared at the two men.

"She's got the sculpture," Ray called.

Peter leveled the thrower at the woman and smiled grimly. "Lady, stop where you are."

Her eyes narrowed. "What do you want? What is this here? I'm calling the manager!" Her voice rose just the right way; very well acted, as Peter decided.

"Ghostbusters, Ma'm," Ray explained.

"And don't bother Fred," Peter added. "He knows we're here. Got his permission." He grinned.

The woman's eyes darted over to the elevator, then to the Ghostbusters. "I'm going to file a complaint about this!" she huffed.

Before Peter or Ray could say anything, the elevator's door opened and the woman's eyes widened as she saw the man leaving the elevator. Peter glanced quickly over his shoulder and his eyebrows rose with surprise. It was Fox Campell.

"Roo!" Campell called.

The woman gave an angered growl, then she darted back into the apartment. Neither Peter nor Ray were quick enough to get a hold of Campell as he ran after her.

"What the heck is going on?" Peter wanted to know.

The penthouse apartment was luxuriously furnished, the two Ghostbusters noted when they entered, rifles drawn. There was a large main room from which two doors led further into the penthouse. One of the doors was open and Peter discovered that it was the bedroom. Large windows gave a good view over Lower Manhattan. In the middle of the large living room area stood the woman, completely erect, her hands slightly raised. Fox Campell had stopped a few feet away from her, his stance radiating readiness for a fight.

"Give it up, Roo," he said now. "You're outnumbered."

"But now outpowered," the woman said and smiled. "You don't know whom you're up against, Fox. You never knew." She laughed. "And I never knew why the Council sent you of all to hunt me."

"The Council didn't sent me, Roo. I've come here before anyone else."

"Uuuhh," she cooed. "Aren't you the nicest one, Fox. But don't you worry, whoever the Council sends, he or she will never take me down."

A faint aura appeared around her body and Peter shot Ray a nervous look. Whatever was going on here was turning worse by the minute. He just hoped Egon and Winston would show up here soon.

"I have power," Roo went on. "More power than you could imagine, but then, you never were the one to appreciate power -- and wealth."

"I don't need it. Not at that price. Let me help you, Roo," he begged. "You need help and I want to give it; with no strings attached."

"How chivalrous," she laughed. "But I don't need help." The aura strengthened and a ball of pure white light appeared in her left hand.

"Give me the Key, Roo," Fox said calmly. "Don't make it any worse than it already is."

"You think it can get worse?" she asked. "Well, you must have a good imagination. The Council will hang me for what I have done." She shook her head. "You won't get me alive, Fox." With that she threw the ball of light at them.

"Down!" Peter yelled, hitting the floor hard while shoving Ray down with him. Then he rolled around and aimed at Roo.

A stream of ionized protons hit the woman and she screamed -- more in surprise than in pain. Ray joined in with his thrower and pinned her to the spot.

"Humans!" she hissed angrily and another ball of light materialized in her hands.

"Come on, Egon," Peter hissed through clenched teeth. "Where are you?"

"Is that all you can come up with?" Roo mocked and lifted her hand. The cold sparkle of the ball reflected off the window. "Now it's my turn."

"Uh-oh," Ray muttered.

Before the woman could throw the ball of light, two more streams hit her and she screamed in annoyance. Egon edged over to Ray.

"Any readings?" he asked, keeping one eye on the woman.

"None. For all the paranormal tricks she can pull, she doesn't read as a ghost or demon," Ray told his friend. "But if she were human she'd already be cooked by the streams."

Egon frowned at Roo, who stood motionlessly in the trap of four proton streams. There was an expression on her face that he didn't like. It was as if she let them keep her, just for the fun of it, until she decided just how to escape.

"I think she's shielded," the physicist then said.

"Huh?"

"Notice how the streams don't really touch her. It looks like they do, but they stop maybe an inch in front of her.

"You're right!" Ray exclaimed.

Fox Campell, who had sought cover behind an armchair, rose to his feet and stared at Roo. Then he walked slowly toward her.

"I know what you're planning, Roo, but it won't work. They know you're _kitsune_."

She laughed coldly. "So what?" With that she raised both hands and threw two balls of light.

The Ghostbusters ducked, though Winston felt something hot burn his forearm. He gritted his teeth, but had to switch off his thrower as he jumped for cover. Roo laughed again, then made a warding off gesture and the remaining three proton streams suddenly doubled back.

"What ...?" Peter exclaimed as his proton stream hit his thrower. Then he yelped in pain as the rifle became burning hot.

Egon and Ray felt the same and both had to let go of their throwers, which fell to the floor, smoking.

"She reflected the streams!" Ray said with awe.

"Yeah, and now I'm mad!" Peter fumed. "Nobody burns my thrower!"

He stepped toward Roo, who watched him with an amused and superior glint in her eyes.

"Humans," she only said and then, in front of the Ghostbusters' astounded eyes, she transformed into a wispy shadow of an animal -- a fox. The fox spirit, _kitsune_ , chuckled and then .... jumped through the window. 'Passing through' was a better term, since no glass shattered. The shadow whisked away while Egon's P.K.E. meter began to beep wildly.

"Roo!" Fox called and ran toward the window.

For a second Peter feared that the man would jump through the window, but he just stopped and watched the disappearing _kitsune_.

"Damn," Campell cursed lowly, hitting the window with his fist.

"She left the Key!" Ray suddenly called and held up the purse Roo had carried. Inside was the delicate but monetary worthless sculpture.

Campell looked up. "She'll come for it," he said darkly.

 

* * *

 

Roo seethed with anger. Not only had she had a confrontation with the Ghostbusters, they'd also brought Fox with them. And she had lost the Key in the process of escaping. A long time ago she had been able to transport even the most solid object while being a spirit, but now ... She looked at her shaking hands and felt cold with fear. She had used too much of her power and now she was feeling the after-effects.

"Mistress?" the soft voice of Calycya floated over to her. "You have to rest."

"I want it back!" she growled. "Now!"

There was not only wounded pride involved in this; there was also J'onar who was expecting the delivery of the Key tonight. She had to act fast. First thing to do was to go over into J'onar's realm and bargain for some more time, then she'd get rid of the Ghostbusters; not permanently -- temporarily.

"But you are weakened ...." the minor spirit said softly.

"Calycya!" Roo ordered.

"Yes, Mistress?"

"You will play bait, my dear. For the Ghostbusters."

Calycya didn't say a thing, only her eyes widened a bit. She was afraid, not for her own safety; she was afraid for Roo and her mistress' health, which was deteriorating. "Yes, mistress," she said dutifully, though her eyes spoke otherwise.

"We'll arrange a little bust for the four humans and when they are out chasing you, I will take the Key back!"

Calycya nodded nervously, shrinking a bit. With an effort Roo got herself back under control. She was powerful, she had connections ... she was _kitsune_. No human could oppose her, not even the Ghostbusters.

"Open a Gate for me!" she ordered. "I have to go to the Netherworld." She would see J'onar and try to get some more time until delivery.

Calycya complied and seconds later the _kitsune_ was gone, leaving the trembling  servant behind. She looked at the place where the Gate's outline was still visibly in faint silver. She was so afraid. Afraid of what would happen to her mistress, afraid what would happen to the humans. She didn't want them harmed, she didn't want them dead, but neither could she risk the life ... and health of her mistress. She had never felt comfortable with the way her mistress disposed of others she didn't need anymore, but she had to follow her orders. Until now she had not felt able to act otherwise; this time it was different. This time, other feelings had welled up inside of her. Calycya moved slowly forward, keeping an eye on the Gate. The mistress wouldn't be back for a long time, she knew. Her business in the Netherworld always took up a lot of real world time.

Curling into a small ball she settled back to wait and think.

 

* * *

 

Fox Campell sat in the living room area of Ghostbuster Central, looking right at a P.K.E. meter pointed at him. The man holding the meter was Dr. Egon Spengler, who gave the device a critical look, then transferred this gaze to Fox.

"You don't register as a paranormal being, Mr. Campell," he told their guest.

"Well, should I be glad about it or not?" Campell asked lightly.

"Depends on who and what you are, don't'cha think?" Peter said with a suspicious and wary expression on his face. Fox shrugged. "Which," Venkman continued, "brings us to the question of who the heck you really are, Mr. Campell."

"Someone trying to help you," the man on the couch said.

"How? By giving us some chunks of information about _kitsune_ and then trying to help the suspect?"

Fox glared at Peter. "I didn't help her, Dr. Venkman. I tried to reason with her."

"She didn't look reasonable to me," Winston told him. "What was going on between the two of you in that penthouse?"

"She mentioned the Council," Ray added. "What is this Council?"

Campell sighed deeply, rubbing his nose. "I knew I'd get in too deep," he muttered.

"In too deep in what?" Ray asked.

"This whole affair." Fox leaned back, spreading his hands. "Okay, I'll play open now, but I want you to listen to what I have to say and then judge, because this will sound pretty ... wild to you."

Peter settled back in his chair. "Let's hear your story," he invited the man to spill his guts, or whatever he planned to do.

Fox was silent for a minute, then began.

"Well, first of all, _kitsune_ are not exclusively Japanese spirits. Of course, they are primarily found there and it is believed that they came from Japan, but today they are all over the world. They are mono-changers, as I call it, only able to change from human appearance into the body of a fox. When they are in their fox form, they can be detected as spirits; as a human, they are undetectable."

Egon frowned, but didn't say a thing.

" _Kitsune_ normally don't live in this world, but prefer to stay in their dimension, cut off from humans. Some venture out and not all of them return. Those who stay here are either renegades or they have merged with the human inhabitants of this dimension."

"What do you mean, 'renegades'?" Winston asked.

"Well, legend has it that _kitsune_ are alluring female spirits who live of the life energy of a man until he dies. That's partly true, because there  are alluring females in the _kitsune_ population, but it's the exception. That myth came into life because of a renegade. Renegades are those _kitsune_ who don't intend to stay out of the affairs of humans. They start manipulating them, take what they want -- and kill." Campell interlaced his fingers and leaned a bit forward. "They are power hungry, looking for money, wealth, anything that can give them more power."

"How do you know all of this?" Peter asked. "And don't tell me it's just a hobby and that you read some dusty books; I won't believe it."

Campell rubbed the bridge of his nose again. "I ...." he hesitated. "You see, I .... my name isn't really Fox, it's Kyo. I took another name, one that reminds me of my heritage, but isn't too suspicious in your realm, just to fit into this society. I'm not human, though your devices tell you otherwise," he added when Egon stared at him in complete surprise. "I am .... one."

"What?" Ray exclaimed with a mixture of awe and excitement. "That's great! "

"One what?" Peter asked, unable to understand Ray's excitement.

Egon pointed the P.K.E. meter at Campell again, turning some dials. "This is most unusual," he muttered.

"He's one what?" Peter repeated impatiently.

Ray turned to him, his whole face shining. "A real _kitsune_!"

Peter glanced at the man's backside, where he saw no tail at all. "You're a fox?"

"Yes, Dr. Venkman, I'm a fox spirit," Fox said with a smile. "And what I told you about us is true: as long as we are in our human form we don't register anywhere because our aura is neutralized. The second when we change shape, we can be detected."

"Okay, where's your tail?" Peter wanted to know.

"Peter," Egon said with a voice that showed that this wasn't really of importance right now.

"Hey, this might be a vital proof for his claims."

"It's a legend that we have tails even when appearing human, Dr. Venkman," Fox explained with a humorless smile. "I assure you that I'm not hiding my tail anywhere. It would be too large for that."

"Just a sec ..." Winston interrupted the tail explanation. "You're _kitsune_ and this woman is _kitsune_. Do I smell a connection there?"

"Yes, you do," Fox confirmed. "Roo is of the same tribe of _kitsune_ as I am and we also have the same family. She left our realm a long time ago to live in this world, though she left in a hurry and everyone you ask will deny her existence." Fox sighed deeply. "She has been declared a renegade because of her actions."

"Because she left your home realm?" Ray asked.

"No." The _kitsune_ shook his head. "Not because of that. You can leave whenever you want to, but you have to know that once you have left, you can't return. It's a decision that affects your entire future."

"Isn't that a bit harsh?" Winston wanted to know. "You might want to discover something new and it turns out that it was wrong. Can't you just return?"

Fox gave him a humorless smile. " _Kitsune_ laws and regulations are quite strict. You decide, you live with it. One reason why I decided to come here. I never fit in and when I was old enough to make the decision I left. But that's not what this is all about. This is about Roo. She was declared a renegade because she didn't fit into  this world. She tried to manipulate, to force, to destroy if she couldn't get what she wanted. She gave life to the legends of _kitsune_ \- that they live of humans, their life energy."

"Then it's true?" Egon wanted to know.

Fox nodded. "Sadly so. We can take human lives, but it's not what we do for as pleasure. It's survival and always was."

"Except for Roo," Peter muttered.

"Yes, except for her. She made a sport of it; playing with humans. And that was the moment she was declared a renegade. The Council contacted me and told me to find her, to get her back to our world so she could be tried. She always escaped because she never stayed a spirit for long, only as long as she needed to accomplish her task. Then she became human again and I lost her trace. I've been hunting her for years now, but couldn't get a hold of her long enough for the Council to send someone to get her back."

"And now she's here and after the Key of  Mycna," Ray said thoughtfully. "But why?"

"Roo has always been attracted to power, though as a _kitsune_ she can't harness raw energies and use them," Fox explained. "That is one reason why she is for hire, for everyone who can pay her prize. She mostly works for supernatural creatures that can't enter this world without getting detected. I think she was hired this time, too, and that she stole the Key for her employer."

"Who is ....?" Peter prompted.

"As far as I can tell it's a demon called J'onar. She's worked for him before. Nasty character." He shuddered.

Egon made a note of the name.

"Great!" Peter exclaimed. "We're up against a demon and a _kitsune_."

"Well, right now we have the Key," Ray said thoughtfully.

"But she will get it back," Fox muttered.

"Not if we can help it," Peter said forcefully.

"We could put the Key into the containment unit," Winston suggested. "Then it would be secured."

"Not necessarily, Winston," Egon objected. "If the Mycna's Key is as powerful as Tobin's says, then it could open the power source even from inside the containment unit and the already trapped ghosts and demons would be able to use this power to escape."

"Which would be another catastrophe," Peter said jovially. "Don't we love 'em?"

"So what can we do?" Ray asked.

"We have to search for a way to neutralize the Key, or to take it apart, like the Moaning Stones. If we could separate it, then destroy one part and hide the others it might be a solution to the problem." Egon looked thoughtful. "But it's not a guarantee."

"Let's try it," Winston suggested. "You look up a way to neutralize it or try to break it apart without getting us incinerated."

Peter rolled his eyes. "You did have to say that, didn't you, Winston?"

"Mr. Campell," Egon suddenly turned his attention back to their guest. "If I remember correctly you said that the only reason why you have been assigned to hunt Roo is that she is of the same family as you are."

Fox' expression darkened. "Yes," he said carefully.

"Is there a relationship between you?" Egon went on.

"In a way," the man answered slowly. He inhaled deeply. "She's my sister."

 

* * *

 

Calycya stood near the large metal structure and waited. She knew she had set off an alert when she had entered and she had also scared the two guards, who had run away from her as if all the hounds of Hell were after them. They would call the Ghostbusters, she suspected, and then they would come here.

Sighing, the minor spirit walked over the dump and watched the rats and birds search through the garbage. Roo had ordered her to draw the Ghostbusters here and keep them busy until she had retrieved the Mycna's Key. Calycya didn't agree with her mistress' wishes; she thought Roo needed help. Fox presented such help, since he was her brother and also someone to trust.

She sighed again. When Roo had called and bound her, she had been afraid of the much stronger _kitsune_ spirit, but after some time she had discovered the fragile and terrified being beneath the shell of power, wealth and arrogance. Roo was an addict and she would never be free if she didn't let someone treat her. She claimed she was a renegade, and proud of her status because it meant freedom, but at what price? Calycya decided she had to help her mistress. Bound as she was to her, she had to see that she got help and became well again.

The minor spirit dematerialized, changing into a bluish mist, and then rose, gaining speed, leaving the dump. She had to search for Fox; she had to ask for his help and understanding.

 

* * *

 

"She's your what?" Peter exclaimed and stared at the dark-haired man, who claimed to be a paranormal being.

"My sister," Fox repeated softly and there was sadness in his voice. "She was  born in the third litter of our mother, of which I am as well. We are siblings of the same generation. It's quite difficult to explain _kitsune_ family and even worse to give you an understanding of politics, but basically the siblings of the same litter are always one generation in a family. The word 'generation' doesn't have the same meaning in our language as it has in yours." He stared at the floor. "When I left my family to come here, Roo stayed back, unsure what to do. She was tempted to stay because there was someone she liked, but there was also her incredible hunger for adventure -- and so she left."

He sighed, biting his lower lip.

"What I never knew when I left was that she became hungry -- for power. When _kitsune_ change their shape, they deplete their natural energy reservoirs in their body and it takes time to refill them -- naturally. But there are also other ways, artificial ways." Fox looked as if he was in deep emotional pain now as he continued. "Roo decided it was worth to try this ... way. And she became an addict."

"What ... like a drug addict?" Peter asked, in surprise.

"In a way," Campell confessed, "it's even worse. Drug addicts  get only a short burst of dreams and well-feeling from drugs, but the energy Roo ..... consumes ... it lasts until it is used. This way she's not going through a cycle of withdrawal."

"Where does she get this energy from?" Egon wanted to know.

"It's given to her since she wouldn't be able to get it for herself. I think she always makes a deal that when she delivers the wanted item she gets another shot." Fox shook his head. "When I heard of it I tried to find her, to talk to her ... to get her somewhere she could be helped. But she refused, called me a coward because I didn't try it."

"And what happened next?" Ray asked softly, feeling with the other man.

"She killed," Fox whispered. "She sucked the life out of a man, a magician who had been opposing a Netherworld entity. She ... simply ... killed him." He hung his head in embarrassment and surpressed anger. "That was when our family got involved," he went on after a second. "She brought shame over us, something no _kitsune_ can deal easily with when raised in the traditional way. And that was also the moment I became involved -- against my will."

"In what way?" Winston prompted.

"When one member of a family dishonors himself, he dishonors his or her clan as well. To free the clan of the shame, the family has to repay; or find the one in question. Because Roo's a renegade she couldn't be brought to the Council. Because of that, the Council contacted me and told me to find Roo or my family would always live with the shame." Fox shrugged. "I could have refused. Mother raised us quite liberally, and I never felt the shame of an honorless deed, but it also affects my clan and that goes ways beyond family. So I tried to get her back, to get her to justice, but she has been able to hide until now." He shook his head and looked at the Ghostbusters.

"How did you find her in the hotel if you aren't able to track her down. She was human when we met her," Peter said and raised an expectant eyebrow.

"I didn't follow her trail, I followed the trail of the Key." Fox shrugged. "It was easy, because it has quite a unique aura."

"And now that she has lost the Key to us," Ray thought aloud, "you can't find her."

Fox nodded. "But I don't need to. She will come here to get the Key back. Without the Key she won't get her next dose of energy and because she had to shield herself against your weapons she needs it soon."

"So we just have to wait for her," Peter concluded. "We get ready and," he snapped his fingers, "we have her. With our friend here," he pointed at Fox, "we have all the information we can get about Roo. Should be easy."

Fox looked uneasy. "You want to ... trap her with your beams?" he asked cautiously.

"She is a paranormal creature," Egon explained. "Though she warded off our streams in her human form we should be able to hold her when she transforms into her spirit body, but that is only a theory. We would have to experiment with the streams, because _kitsune_ are a species of ghosts that are not filed in Tobin's to my satisfaction."

Campell stared at him. "Eh, experiment ...?" he echoed.

Peter chuckled. "One of Egon's favorite hobbies. And since you're the only life model he has ....."

"Oh." The _kitsune_ didn't look thrilled. "What will you do when you trapped her?" he wanted to know.

"We could put her into the containment unit," Egon started.

"No!" Fox cried immediately, his unnatural blue eyes widening with horror. "You can't do that to her! She's a thinking, breathing, living being! And my sister," he added lowly.

Ray looked at the others. "We can't really trap her in the containment unit," he supported Fox. "She is only a spirit when she transforms into a _kitsune_. We also don't know what will happen if she's released into the containment field and then transforms into a human being again. She could be killed by the ghosts and demons inside."

Fox blanched. "Listen, if you could her long enough for someone of the Council to arrive," he told them, "she could be turned over to justice."

"What would the Council do to her?" Winston asked curiously.

"They will put her on trial and then pass a sentence."

The four Ghostbusters looked at each other.

"What kind of sentence?" Peter finally asked.

"Most likely she would be dishonored and cast from the family and clan," Fox explained. "If the sentence is a hard one, they'll restrain her shape-changing abilities for several years. But the worst she'll have to suffer through is the withdrawal."

There was another short silence.

"Do you think we could hold her?" Peter finally asked Egon.

"Yes, I think we could -- if we can get her to shape-change."

"No problem," Fox said. "I could get her to change."

"How?" Ray wanted to know.

"Well," the _kitsune_ said hesitantly. "There are ways to get a _kitsune_  to change. One is to make them drunk ....."

"Sounds like a job vor Peter Venkman," Peter smiled. "I'll just invite her to a hot night in my favorite hang-out."

Fox smiled, too. "That's not so easy, Dr. Venkman. We know how to moderate our intake."

"There goes a wonderful time ..." Peter sighed.

"Another way is to kill a _kitsune_ , but that's not the prime objective," Fox went on. "But we also have a rule."

"And that is?" Ray wanted to know.

"If one _kitsune_ challenges another they will take out this fight in their natural shapes."

"You don't look too thrilled about that," Winston noted.

Fox chuckled humorlessly. "Given the fact that Roo is much stronger than I am, no, Mr. Zeddemore, I'm not too thrilled. And it's also very straining just to change shape because I haven't done that in a very long time. I never had to. But it's the only way."

There was a short silence, then Peter clapped his hands, starteling everyone. "Let's get to work, guys," he said. "The sooner we get this lady trapped, the sooner we're rid of Ms Veronica West."

"Don't you wanna say you are rid of Ms West?" Winston teased.

Peter simply snorted. Ray rose from his seat, followed by Egon.

"Mr. Campell, if you'd be so kind and help me with my experiments?" Egon invited the unhappy looking _kitsune_.

"Ooo-kay," Fox said slowly and followed the two scientists upstairs.

"Poor guy," Winston muttered with a grin.

Peter chuckled. "Okay, so what are we going to do?"

"Let's check the packs and traps, then the containment unit," Winston decided. "Just to be sure everything's in perfect working order."

The psychologist nodded and the two Ghostbusters went down to the basement.

 

* * *

 

Roo waited outside Ghostbuster Central, just another woman on the street. She waited for the Ghostbusters to leave the building on their way to the bust Calycya had set up. But nothing happened. Puzzled, she walked closer to the firehouse. No sound of any alarms. Why didn't the humans at the garbage dump call the Ghostbusters? She decided to wait a bit longer.

And she was rewarded with the sight of the white car the Ghostbusters used as means of transport leave, lights flashing.

 _Yes!_ she exulted silently.

 

* * *

 

The phone at Ghostbuster Central rang for the fifth time when Janine picked it up.

"Ghostbuster," she called into the receiver, cradling it between shoulder and ear to resume her nail-polishing.

She stopped her task of manicuring her nails when the caller stated his problem and picked up a pen and a piece of paper. "Yeah, right. They'll be over as soon as possible. Yes, I tell them it's urgent. Yes."

With an exasparrated look she put the receiver back. "Some people ....," she muttered. Then she yelled, "Ooohhhh, guuyyyyssss!"

Seconds later the four men appeared downstairs, followed by their guest, Fox Campell. Janine eyed him with a lot of interest, open interest. Since they had met for the first time, a few hours ago, she couldn't shake the feeling of a certain attraction to the guy.

"What is it, Janine?" Ray wanted to know, shaking her out of her thoughts.

"Someone was spooked by some kind of blue female looking ghost at the city dump," she explained. "They say it's urgent because the workers refuse to continue with their work."

"A blue female ghost?" Campell asked, frowning.

"Yeah. They said it was female. Two guards saw it. Pretty, too," Janine explained.

"Would you mind if I called this man and asked a few more questions?" Campell wanted to know.

"Why?" Winston asked back.

"Just a precaution to make sure it isn't a trick," the other man explained. "Roo wants the Key and maybe she plans to lure you away from here." He shrugged. "Just plain instinct."

Egon nodded, then turned to Janine. "We will call the city dump."

Janine dialled the number she had written down, then gave the receiver to Campell, smiling at him. Campell returned the smile.

"Hi, this is the Ghostbusters," Campell said when he was connected. "I'd like to have some more information about the ghost you saw ..... just to decide if we need additional devices ...... it disappeared?" He raised an eyebrow at the Ghostbuster, who all looked either thoughtful, surprised or suspicious. "Could you describe the ghost to me? ... Female .... bluish .... beautiful. Say, did the ghost look like a fairy with fur and pointy ears? Yes, like in the Disney movies." Fox grinned at the men and the woman listening to his conversation. "She did? Okay, we think that there won't be another appearance of her. If she comes back call us immediately. ...... Yes, have a nice day as well." Campell replaced the receiver again and turned to the others. "It was a set-up. She sent Calycya to play bait for you, as far as I can tell."

"A Disney fairy?" Peter asked doubtfully. "With fur and pointy ears?"

"Calycya is a lower form of _kitsune_. She can't change shape into a fox body, though she had the eyes, ears and tail of a fox. Her kind is called the Lower Tribes by shape-changing _kitsune_ and they're mostly held as servants. They are easily impressed and bound to a stronger spirit. "

"Sounds like slavery to me," Peter muttered.

"In a way, it is, Dr. Venkman," Fox agreed. "Calycya has been in Roo's service for a long time now, but she isn't a mindless slave. She's as compassionate, intelligent and individual as you are. She just can't get out of her committment to Roo."

"So," Winston said, "now that we don't go after her, what will happen?"

"I don't know." Fox shrugged. "Roo might decide to come here beside the fact that you're still here, or she'll find another way."

"What if we make her believe that we left?" Ray asked thoughtfully. "We could leave, circle around and come back."

"Good idea, but can we trap her, guys?" Winston asked.

"I think we have found a way to hold her," Egon said slowly. "If she transforms into a spirit."

Fox nodded. "She will."

"I'll get Ecto ready," Winston said. "Then we can get this show on  the road."

"Ray, would you help me reconfigure the settings on the proton packs?" Egon asked and turned to go to his lab, while Ray gave an enthusiastic 'Sure!' and followed.

Janine's eyes still lingered on Fox Campell. When the man became aware of it, he gave her an apologetic grin and walked up the stairs.

 

* * *

 

Roo walked through the silent firehouse, her senses stretched to pick up even the slightest trace of the Key. It was hard to follow the traces, though they were clear and should have been more than easy to detect; but her current condition hindered her. She needed the next shot of energy -- fast. Even now she felt the pull of her _kitsune_ body; she wanted nothing more than to transform, hide somewhere and sleep until she was rejuvinated. _No time for that now_ , she scolded herself. She followed the energy traces into the basement of the building and stopped.

Standing on the top of the stairs leading further down she took her time for a closer survey. No need to run into a trap. There was a large, red machine at one end of the room, computer banks lined up close to it. A dryer, a washing machine and some devices Roo didn't recognize took up the space of another wall. There was no human in sight and it all looked deserted.

Carefully, she descended and then tried to spot the Key. It was here, her senses told her, close by. Though its aura seemed to be shielded, she was still able to feel it. Searching through the basement she finally found it, close to the large contraption, hidden in a box. The box had to be some kind of safe, she decided. There was an electronic lock attached to the safe. With a smile she began to manipulate the lock, certain that she would be able to find the right combination. After all, the was an expert in theft and burglary. With fear and anger she saw that her hands were shaking. She was going through withdrawal, at least the beginning of it.

Seconds later the lock was broken and the door swung open. Roo snarled as she looked at the small part of the original sculpture. It was barely one-third of it! What had they done? Suddenly her flesh began to crawl as she recognized the strange energy sensation. Closing her hand around the piece of the sculpture she turned slowly.

She growled lowly, "You!"

"Don't do it," Fox said flatly. "Let me help you."

She laughed contemptously. "Help me? I told you, I don't need help! I'm free and my own master!" She spread her hands and hoped that it wasn't so obvious that she was shaking.

Her brother shook his head. "No, you are not. You're working for demons; demons who give you energy shots which last until they need you again. Don't you see the trap, Roo? They know you're an addict! They know just how much to give you until they need you again to do their dirty work! You're their slave!"

She boiled with anger at his words, her white cheeks flushing red. "I'm nobody's slave! And I do the bargaining! I set the rules and I tell them what I need!"

"That's what you think," Fox shot back. "They use you. Why don't you want me to help you? You could be really free, live in any realm you want if you just learned to merge, not to conquer!"

She sneered. "Weak, puny human lover," she assaulted him. "You don't know what real power is; you never saw that we are superior to any race."

He shook his head sadly. "We are not superior, we are just different."

Roo snorted. "Yeah, right." She turned back to the small safe to get the sculpture.

"Don't." The single word was spoken with more command and power than she had ever heard of her brother.

"What did you say?" she asked with a dangerously level voice.

"I said, don't."

"What if I do? You think you can stop me?" In her current condition he might just, she decided, pulling herself together.

Fox looked at her, his face straight, his body rigid. "No," he answered honestly, "but I can challenge you."

Roo could only stare at her brother. "Challenge?" she finally sputtered. "You want to challenge me?"

He nodded, letting her feel the first wave of his _kitsune_ aura as he was preparing to transform. He had told the Ghostbusters the truth that he hadn't changed shape in years, but like breathing this was an instinct, something natural. Now that he was preparing himself he felt that everything returned to him, every fox instinct and feeling.

"You're even more foolish than I always thought," she laughed and stepped away from the safe. "I accept!" With that she changed into her _kitsune_ form, letting the sculpture fall to the ground. Her body reacted with a surge of energy to the change of shape, and for a minute she felt unbeatable -- invincible.

Fox had done the same, now standing opposite, his muscles tensed, his ears twitching. She was a bit larger than he was, but he appeared leaner and more muscular.

"You are going to die," she propheceid, then she charged.

 

*

 

Winston had circled around the block and then parked Ecto-1 outside the firehouse. The four men got out, strapped on their proton packs and then entered. Moving as silently as possible, they approached the area where Peter's office was. Egon had his P.K.E. meter in hand and scanned for any trace of _kitsune_. The meter was silent.

"Nothing?" Ray asked.

Egon shook his head. "Not yet anyway," he explained.

"Maybe she didn't come," Peter suggested.

As if on this comment the meter began to scream in protest as a massive energy wave of paranormal origin hit it.

" _Kitsune_ ," Ray and Egon said almost silmultaneously.

"Gesundheit," Peter quipped.

"The basement," was Egon's brief direction. "And it looks like there are two of them."

Winston checked his thrower again and gripped it even tighter. "Okay, so how do we approach this?" he wanted to know.

"We can't trap Fox," Ray said immediately.

"Of course not, Ray," the physicist calmed his friend. "We have to make sure that, if he stays in his _kitsune_ form, Mr. Campell is out of our immediate line of fire."

Loud growling interrupted him and the four men looked at each other.

"Sounds like they have a lot of fun down there," Peter said, smiling humorlessly. "Why don't we go down and party ourselves?" He patted his thrower.

Egon nodded and they carefully descended the few steps to the door that led to the basement itself. Winston glanced at Egon, Ray and Peter, who all looked ready and nodded, then opened the door. A loud whine of pain greeted them, followed by more growling and yapping. They looked down into the basement.

There were two foxes down there, both engaged in battle. They didn't look like any fox on Earth, since they were much larger and had a more wolfish appearance. But there was no mistaking that they were foxes nevertheless. Their snouts were long, the ears pointed and slim, and their head lacked the broadness of a wolf's. One of them had a deeply blackish-blue fur and a long, bushy tail with a white tip, as well as whitish grey paws. The other fox had reddish-blonde fur, but the same white-tipped tail and white paws. And it had the advantage right now. The blackish-blue fox bled from several wounds, the severest of them all a deep gash in his right front leg. Limping away from its attacker, the wounded fox tried to evade another attack. The red fox growled with triumph and charged again, hitting its weaker opponent and burying its teeth deep in the thick neck fur.

"Egon?" Peter asked for help. He didn't know which one was Fox and which was Roo, though, from Fox' explanation, Roo was the stronger one.

"The red one is Roo," the physicist said after consulting his meter. "The black one shows Fox' readings."

Peter activated his thrower and prepared to descend further. "Then let's go down there and help him," he said.

Egon held him back. "We can't fire on them while they're that close together," he told his friend. "We'd risk hitting Fox as well."

"If we don't help him, we risk seeing him dismembered!"

"Only too true."

"So?" Peter asked challengingly. "Do we want to stay here and see him killed, or do we try to get them away from each other and trap her?"

"We have to try it," Ray decided. "We can't just stay and watch!"

"I never said we would," Egon put in. "We just have to be careful what we fire at as long as they are so close together."

Another cry of pain let them stop their discussion. The four Ghostbusters moved downstairs.

 

*

 

Calycya hurried down the lively streets of Manhattan, unseen by the human passers-by around her. She could feel her mistress _kitsune_ aura and she knew it didn't bode well. She had to hurry even more. Out of breath, as far as a spirit could be out of breath, she arrived at the firehouse that was the Ghostbusters' headquarters. Roo's aura was strong -- and there was another aura as well, weaker, but recognizable.

The minor spirit passed through the wall and then straight down into the basement. Her hands flew to her mouth to stiffle a cry as she discovered Roo standing over the panting and helpless body of Fox. The dark-colored _kitsune_ was bleeding from several gashes and bite wounds. His eyes were wide open with fear. Roo herself had been hurt as well, but those few cuts were minor compared to what her brother had suffered. The four Ghostbusters stood around the pair of fighters, visibly unsure of what to do. Calycya guessed why they didn't simply fire their weapons: they didn't want to hurt Fox.

Roo looked at her fallen opponent. "I told you, you never had a chance," she growled, her voice cold and full of murderous intent. "And now you'll never get a chance again!"

She bared her teeth. The Ghostbusters aimed their weapons at the pair, insecure what to do. Calycya drifted closer, still invisble for them. She had to help Fox; it wasn't just the urge of a Lower One to protect one of the High Ones, it was more.

"What can we do, Egon?" the auburn-haired one asked.

The blond, Egon, looked indecisive for a second, then said, "We have to trap her."

"But that would mean trapping Fox as well!" the auburn-haired protested.

"I don't see an alternative. If Roo escapes with the Key, even if it is only a part of the whole ...."

"Understood, big guy," the dark-haired Ghostbuster interrupted. "Let's trap her."

The auburn-haired wanted to object, but didn't do it, simply readied his thrower with a deep sigh.

Calycya decided that she had to act now or never. Roo had her teeth bared and was ready to deliver the killing stroke on Fox.

"NO!" Calycya called and materialized between Roo and Fox.

Roo jumped back and stared at her servant in surprise. "What are you doing here?" she demanded. "I ordered you to stay at the dump!"

"I know, mistress, but I had to come." Calyca glanced at the badly hurt Fox. He was barely aware of her.

"Get out of my way, then!"

Calycya shook her head. "No, mistress."

Roo's ears perked. "What?" she asked lowly.

"No, I won't step away. I can't let you kill him."

 

 

Peter stared from the two females to Egon and back. "What's going on, big guy?" he finally asked.

"I don't know, but it seems we have just been given unexpected help by this being.

"Who is she?" Ray asked, staring in fascination at the light-blue colored spirit.

Egon pointed his P.K.E. meter at her and frowned. " _Kitsune_ , I think."

"You think?" Peter echoed, gesturing at Calycya. "She looks like a bad mismatch between a fox and a human to me, all right. What makes you only think she is one?"

It was true that the females outer appearance suggested _kitsune_ heritage. She was average height, with a light blue fur covering her whole body. Fox ears perked up between her mane of blue hair and she had slender fingers with talons attached to them. And she had a tail -- bushy, blue, but without a white tip.

"She shows similar readings as Fox, but she isn't a real _kitsune_." The blond physicist seemed confused.

"Fox told us she's from the Lower Tribes," Ray interjected. "Maybe that's why she also reads differently."

Their discussion was interrupted by Roo's angry growl. "I am your mistress, you little traitor! I command you to step away!"

Calycya straightened to her full height and set her chin. "No. I can't let you shed family blood! He is your brother, mistress! You can't kill your own! No _kitsune_ ever killed one of his kind since the last Feud! That was several thousand years ago!"

"Then there has to be a first!"

"No! Don't! Please! He only tried to help you." Calycya spread her hands in an offer for peace. "You need help, mistress. Don't you see that you've become an addict?"

"How dare you .....!" Roo advanced on her servant, but the little spirit didn't move an inch. She stood her ground. Roo stopped, her ears twitching nervously, her body shivering in a non-existent cold. Gritting her teeth she surpressed a cry of pain as she felt the first cramps hitting her. She had used too much of the demon energy and her body was demanding more because she was still using too much.

"Now!" Egon commanded as he saw their chance. If Roo advanced any closer they'd loose their only opportunity to trap her without getting too close to Fox.

The _kitsune_ found herself suddenly trapped in four proton streams. She screamed in rage and fury. Adrenaline surged through her, giving her renewed strength, though it would last only for a short time.

 

 

Fox was barely conscious when he heard the female voice he hadn't heard since he had left the _kitsune_ realm. _Calycya_ , his blurry mind told him and he tried to get the cobwebs out of his vision. Blinking, he looked up and discovered the lower _kitsune_ standing between him and Roo. Roo was fuming with anger and just about to jump her servant when he heard the sound of the Ghostbusters' weapons.

"She is stronger than anything I would have thought possible," Egon remarked.

Roo writhed in the containment streams, rage and fury radiating from her body like visible forces. Fox saw how Winston unhooked a trap and threw it toward Roo, who was fighting against the streams -- and she was winning, as he discovered. With a cry of anger she erupted from the cage of proton streams, her eyes glowing and wild.

"Open the trap!" Peter screamed, still firing at the _kitsune_.

"NO!" Fox yelled as the trap opened and the brilliant white containment field enveloped his sister. He tried to get to his four feet, but a slim arm wrapped itself around his neck and held him tightly.

"Don't," a female voice said softly and he recognized Calycya. "Let them handle it."

"They can't trap her in this ... device!" he protested desperately. He struggled against her hold but found himself unable to. She wasn't strong, but he was so weak from the fight and blood loss that it was easy for her to hold him.

"They have to, Fox."

He sighed and surrendered, closing his eyes to avoid seeing what the Ghostbusters' device did to Roo. When the trap shut down and the doors were closed, an sudden silence descended over the basement. Finally, Peter gave a sigh of relief and wiped his brow.

"Gotcha!" he then exulted.

Winston walked over to the trap, looking at it with suspicion. "She's really trapped? She can't get outta this?"

"The likelihood of a _kitsune_ getting out of a trap that was able to hold demons of a much higher classification is minor," Egon replied.

Calycya let go of him and Fox summoned every scratch of energy he still possessed, rising to his feet and limping over to the trap. "What ... will you do now?" he asked weakly.

Egon looked down at him. "We won't put her into the containment unit," he promised. "We will turn her over to whatever justice system you have."

"Thank you," Fox said from the heart.

"It might be a better sentence than what she has to expect at home," a male voice suddenly said.

The four men turned around and stared at the fox with the deep maroon colored fur, which had appeared out of nowhere and was now walking over to the trap. It's tail had the familiar white tip, and there was a broad rust colored stripe across his back. The fox also looked older than Fox. The black _kitsune_ , as well as Roo, had the looks of a young fox about them, but this one looked more grown up.

"Khyss," Fox greeted him, a bit surprised. "I didn't know that the Council was that fast." He straightened a bit more, wincing again. He knew he looked terrible, with his blood-matted fur and open wounds.

"Who is that?" Peter wanted to know.

"His name is Khyss, a member of the Border Patrol."

Khyss looked at Fox, sizing him. Fox held his head as high as he could manage. Looking into the eyes of a Border Patrol kitsune was always difficult.

"You have done well, Kyo," Khyss said, then turned to the humans. "I think I have to thank you humans for catching Roo as well."

Peter looked critically at the maroon-colored fox. "Thanks, I think. What now?"

"Release her from the trap," Khyss told them. "I can't get her home while she is in that thing."

Winston, who stood closest to the opening mechanism, looked at Egon, who simply nodded. Then he stepped on the trigger button and the trap opened, white light pouring out. When it closed seconds later Roo lay motionlessly on the ground beside it. She was whimpering a bit, and she was still in her fox form. She shivered violently and her eyes cracked open just a bit. Khyss walked over and cocked his head, giving her a critical look.

Fox stepped beside him, his eyes full of sadness. "Why did it have to come this way?" he asked no-one specific.

"She choose her path," Khyss answered. "As you did yours. It had to come this way. She will get tried and sentenced. Your family's honor is restored."

It didn't give Fox any comfort, but he nodded. He moved even closer to his sister and touched her neck with his snout. "I'm sorry, Roo."

Then, from one second to another, Khyss and Roo were gone -- as was the third of the Key.

"Wow!" Ray only said.

Someone came down the stairs -- in a hurry. The four Ghostbusters looked up and discovered a woman in her early thirties. She stared at the scene in front of her, then her eyes came to rest on Fox.

"What the hell happened here?"

"Who are you, lady?" Winston wanted to know, not sure whether she was another _kitsune_ in human disguise or just a normal human being like all of them.

"Alicia Knight," she introduced herself. "I came to have a look what's taking Fox so long ...." Her eyes came to rest on the blood-covered fox. "Hey, handsome." She crouched down and gave him a critical look. "Delete the last. Fox, what the hell happened to you? You look like you had a rather bad shaving accident."

He chuckled, then winced again. "Please, don't make me laugh," he whispered.

"This doesn't look so funny to me. Here, let me take a look at you." She tilted his head carefully, her hands immediately covered with blood, and studied the cuts and bites. Then she touched his mistreated ribs. He yelped as she pushed too hard. "What happened?" she asked again, turning to the Ghostbusters, wiping her hands. "Are you responsible for this?"

"No, they aren't," Fox explained. "I had a nasty encounter with Roo," he told her. "She was trapped by the Ghostbusters and brought back to our realm by Khyss."

Alicia raised an eyebrow. "Khyss? Haven't seen the old fox for years."

Fox smiled. "Yeah, me neither."

"How about getting the whole party upstairs?" Peter asked, his thrower resting cockily against his shoulder.

"You have a first aid kit?" Alicia asked.

"Sure do," Winston replied.

"Then let's get upstairs." She turned to Fox. "Can you do it on your own or do you need assistance."

Fox snorted, got onto his own four feet again, limping unsteadily over to the stairs. Alicia shook her head and followed.

 

* * *

 

"This was quite fascinating," Egon said and sipped his coffee.

Alicia chuckled. "What? Treating dozens of bite wounds, getting the blood off your kitchen table and shirt, or carrying a cross fox up into your bedroom?"

Ray grinned and Egon raised an eyebrow. "I was talking about the experience of finally getting a reading of several _kitsune_. Tobin's has always been very vague about this kind of paranormal beings." He shoved his glasses up his nose. "I wonder why. They seem to be quite common in our world, as far as I can determine this from out encounter."

Ray turned to Alicia. "You were the one who gave me the hint with the readings we had and you also knew that it had to be Roo."

The woman nodded. "Yes, I did all that. I know quite a lot about them as well."

"How?" the occultist wanted to know.

"I studied them for all my life," Alicia explained. "It's like a hobby that takes up most of my free time. When I met Fox I had the first life model, but since they're all different it's hard to establish a common basis."

"How can you study a species that doesn't even register as spirits?" Egon wanted to know.

"And how did you meet Fox?" Ray added.

She looked a bit indecisive, her eyes traveling over to the stairs leading to the third floor where Fox was resting. "I have _kitsune_ blood," she finally said. "My great-grandpa was _kitsune_ , one of Khyss' brothers in fact."

Both scientists stared at her and Egon whipped out his P.K.E. meter, but frowned as he received no readings. Alicia smiled.

"You can't read me as a paranormal being. My powers are so limited that they are close to non-existent. I can sense fox-turned _kitsune_ and I can enter their realm. That's about all." She shrugged. "Not much, but it comes in handy with my studies."

"Fascinating," Egon muttered. "Would you help me with my studies?"

Alicia smiled broadly. "Why not? Sure. As to how I met Fox, well, you know that there are ways to make a _kitsune_ human into a _kitsune_ fox?"

They nodded. "Get them drunk or kill them," Ray answered.

"Fox wasn't drunk when we met," Alicia explained, "and neither was he dead. I ... I ran him over with my car." When she saw their alarmed expressions she shook her head. "It was dark and I drove on a deserted road back to a small town I was doing research in. I hit something and it turned out to be Fox. He transformed into a _kitsune_ fox right before my eyes. I just couldn't believe it. I took him home with me and took care of his wounds. Guess it wasn't the injury that made him change shape, only the shock." She chuckled. "He was really surprised when he found out that I'm also partly _kitsune_."  Then she sobered a bit. "What about the Mycna's Key?" she wanted to know. "Did you put it into your containment field?"

Egon shook his head. "That would be much too dangerous. Any entity inside the containment unit who knows about the Key can use it to access the power source."

"Translation: no."

Ray grinned at her. "We found a way to cut it apart," he explained. "It has now three separate parts. One part is in a single containment field, another was placed in the care of my friends from the Occult Circles, and the third was taken by Khyss when he came to collect Roo."

"Well, it's as safe as it can be," Alicia decided.

 

* * *

 

J'onar interlaced his fingers and leaned back into his stone throne. The minor demon in front of him, who also happened to be the best spy he had for the human realm, had just finished his report on what had occurred in the human's world.

"So she failed," he concluded darkly. "Pitty. She came so highly recommended."

H'dan smiled. "Her recommendation wasn't enough to defeat the Ghostbusters."

"Them again." J'onar growled. "She should have checked in to report that she was up against the Ghostbusters." Though the _kitsune_ had once paid his realm a visit, she hadn't mentioned whom she was up against. She had simply mentioned a slight time delay. "So we lost the Key. How bad." The demon shrugged. "Another time, then."

 

* * *

 

Fox lay on the covers of the bed and stared into the twilight of the room. It was getting dark outside. He sighed, his mind flashing back to Roo's capture again and again. He wished he could have done something ... anything ... to prevent all of this. It wasn't as if he hadn't tried to get Roo to listen to him; he had even challenged her.

Someone touched his neck fur and stroked it carefully, caringly. He lifted his head and looked into Calycya's blue eyes. There was a lot of understanding in their depths and a lot of love. She pulled back her hand as he looked at her, hesitating. After all, she was still only a Lower Tribe _kitsune_ , not a being allowed to such intimacy as she had just displayed.

"Hi," she said softly, giving him a wavering smile.

"Hi," he returned and returned the smile. "What are you still doing here?" Calycya had disappeared after Roo had been trapped and he hadn't expected her to return.

"I wanted to know how you're doing," she answered. She interlaced her fingers, looking very shy all of a sudden. "How are you?"

"Fine, I think. I hurt all over and I can't change shape, but all else considered ...." His mood darkened. "All else considered," he repeated, "I feel .... lousy."

Spontaneously, her hands curled around his neck and she hugged him carefully. "Fox, it was always to come this way, from the day Roo decided to step over the line. She knew it, you knew it, the Council knew it. ...... I knew it," she added so softly that even he had to strain to hear it.

"Yes, but it could have come otherwise. I tried to convince her, I wanted to help her ..." He made a helpless little gesture.

"She didn't want to be helped." Calycya brushed her hands over his neck fur, still ignoring the fact that she wasn't really allowed to do that. "She is your sister, true, but you have your own life and you have to go on."

"Yes, I have to, don't I?" He sighed again, leaning into her embrace. "And you? What will you do?"

The minor _kitsune_ straightened. "I ..." She looked confused. "I don't know," she confessed. "I never gave it a thought."

"Why don't you return to our realm?" Fox asked. "I'm sure you have family there."

Calycya shook her head. "I can't. Even if I had family ... someone from the Higher Ones would take me as a servant again." She played with her long gown, that hid her slim body. "I would like to stay here."

He smiled, as far as a fox could grin. "Then do it."

"You really think so?"

He yawned. "Yeah."

A smile crossed her beautiful features. "Rest, then, Fox. I'll visit you when you feel better."

He curled into a tight ball. "You're always welcome," he muttered. Seconds later he was fast asleep.

 

 

On the same floor, Winston Zeddemore was cleaning away the last few towels they had used while bandaging Fox. Peter was in the bathroom, washing his hands, when Winston dumped the towels in a basket he would take down in the basement to the washing machine later.

"I'll have a look at our guest again," Winston said and nodded toward their bedroom. Then he walked over to the door and opened it silently. He smiled as he saw the picture that greeted him.

Fox lay curled into a ball of fur on Peter's bed. He was sleeping, his snout and most of his head covered by his bushy tail. Slimer, their resident ghost, who had been suspicuously absent in the last few days -- and from the smell of it he had been suspicuously close to the garbage cans again -- had claimed Peter's pillow as his own.

"What the hell .....!" a voice started beside him and Winston reacted immediately. He clamped his hand over Peter's mouth.

"Shhhhh!" he hissed. "They're sleeping!"

"Un mah bed!" Peter raged, his voice muffled by Winston's hand.

"So what?"

Peter glared at his friend, but didn't yell as he removed his hand, only kept on glaring at the pair on his bed. Winston shoved him away from the door and closed it as silently as he had opened it.

"Let's go downstairs to the others."

Peter grumbled something, but complied.

"Hey, it's only a bed," Winston said with a grin. "Nothing we can't clean."

"It's my bed, Winston. Not only do I have slime stains on it, no. I also have fox hair, too! It's unfair! Why me?"

"Natural attraction?" Egon guessed. He had overheard the conversation as the two men had come downstairs.

Peter stuck out his tongue and flopped down on the couch beside Alicia.

"If he's adopted your bed as his new den then I don't have to worry about how to get him home tonight," she said with such a serious expression that Ray had to hold on to himself not to laugh out aloud.

"His what?" Peter squeaked.

"Well, foxes are very fast in finding new resting places, Dr. Venkman. It looks like Fox decided your bed was just perfect."

Peter jumped up. "Get him off my bed!"

Alicia laughed and the others fell in. "Don't worry, Dr. Venkman. I'll get him off your sheets in  no time when I leave. All you have to worry about after that are the hair and the fleas."

"Fleas ...." Peter croaked. The laughter made him scowl at Alicia. "Very funny," he grumbled, but there was amusement in his eyes.

"Speaking of leaving," she continued, "I think it's time to get home." She turned to Egon. "See you tomorrow?"

"Uuuh," Peter leered, "hot date?"

"Only if his electrodes short-circuit," Alicia grinned.

Peter raised both eye-brows. "New victim, huh? Hope you paid your insurance."

"Don't listen to him, Ms Knight," Winston advised.

"Sounds like good advice to me."

Peter snorted, but grinned at her.

Alicia walked up the stairs and collected her _kitsune_ friend, who only gave everyone a sleepy look. He was so tired he didn't even protest when she carried him all the way down to her car; he only muttered something incoherent. Then she told them all good-bye and drove off.

Peter elbowed Egon in the ribs and grinned. "Hope you have an explanation for Janine when she comes back tomorrow."

"There is nothing to explain," Egon replied stiffly.

"Uh-huh," Peter only made and winked. "Right."

"Guys," Winston called, suddenly very thoughtful. "What'll we do about the Wests and their missing sculpture?"

Peter shrugged, then grinned evilly. "We charge them the usual fee for inspecting the premises for ghostly presences, then tell them they should trust in the police to find their precious glass sculpture."

Winston laughed. "Ms West won't ever speak with us again."

"No loss."

And then the doors closed after them.

 


End file.
